Pearson's Candy Company
 |
|
| Private company | |
| Industry | Confectionery/Chocolate |
| Founded | 1909 |
| Founder | P. Edward Pearson |
| Headquarters | Saint Paul, Minnesota |
|
Key people
|
Michael Keller, CEO |
| Products | See products section |
| Revenue | >$50,000,000 |
| Owner | Brynwood Partners |
|
Number of employees
|
>200 |
| Website | www |
Pearson's Candy Company is an American chocolate and confectionery manufacturer headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded as a confectionery distribution firm in 1909, the company began to manufacture its own products in 1912. Originally a family-owned company, Pearson's experienced changes in ownership, acquisitions and product alterations in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s before its most recent sale to Brynwood Partners VI in August 2011.
Pearson's products are produced on five production lines in the company’s Saint Paul plant. The company sells its Mint Patties, Salted Nut Roll and Bit-O-Honey nationally and its Nut Goodie and Bun Bars products in several Midwestern states. As of late 2014, Pearson's was estimated to be the 31st largest confectionery company in North America by revenue.
Pearson's Candy Company was founded as a confectionery distribution firm in 1909 by P. Edward Pearson and his brothers, John and Oscar. Two more brothers, Waldemar and C. Fritz, joined the company several years later. The five brothers determined manufacturing would be more profitable than distribution and, in 1912, introduced their first confection, the Nut Goodie.
Pearson's grew and began manufacturing for other companies, including Whitmans and Planters. Pearson's introduced the Salted Nut Roll in 1933, at the height of The Great Depression. The success of the Salted Nut Roll prompted other manufacturers to mimic the confection. Pearson's subsequently changed the roll's name to the Choo Choo Bar, to distinguish the product. The Choo Choo name, however, was not as successful, and the original name was restored with the Pearson's logo more prominently displayed.
By the end of World War II, the Pearson brothers had dropped the distribution aspect of the business. The youngest brother, William Pearson, joined the family business in 1944, as did George Pearson, son of founder P. Edward Pearson. In 1951, Pearson's acquired the Trudeau Candy Company, which brought Mint Patties and the Seven Up bar to Pearson's product line. The company moved to a new manufacturing plant at its current address in 1959. In 1962, Pearson’s acquired Milwaukee-based Sperry Candy Company, a company known for its Chicken Dinner Bar. Pearson's, however, sold Sperry Candy to the Schuler Chocolate Factory of Winona, Minnesota five years later.
...
Wikipedia